156 appearances in his 5 seasons at Newcastle United was a decent enough return for a player who promised much but would never make the big step to a top class Premier League defender.

Capped 10 times for England at U21 level, and with pace and a physique most top flight players would crave, his early career at Ipswich and a big money move to the Magpies set him up for a successful career.

But at top flight level a failure to read the game as well as his peers would be his undoing. That and a failure to mature as he should (something that would become clear from his off-field exploits).

Nevertheless, making over 30 appearances in three of his five seasons shows he was still as proficient as anyone else at the club at the time.

His fall from grace after his spell on Tyneside was another indication of a talent never fulfilled. Three years at Wigan followed before a spell at Sunderland (a spell punctuated with two arrests, both resulting in him being released / equated of all charges) and finally a year at Stowermarket Town.